Manhattan
Manhattan Episode Number: Season 2, Episode 14 Directed By: Dean White Air Date: February 17, 2013 Previous Episode: Tiny Next Episode The Queen is Dead "Manhattan" is the 14th episode of Season 2 of the American ABC fairytale/drama television series Once Upon a Time, and the show's 36th episode overall, which aired on February 17, 2013. It was co-written by Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, while being directed by Dean White. In this episode, Emma Swan, Henry, and Mr. Gold arrive in Manhattan to find his son Baelfire, only to have Emma regret the trip after past memories come back to haunt her. Meanwhile, in the Enchanted Forest, a young Rumplestiltskin is to fight in the Ogre Wars, but is then hesitant after a seer reveals his fate. The episode was received positively by critics, with most praising Robert Carlyle's role as Rumplestiltskin during the flashback. The episode also saw an increase in ratings from the previous episode, with 7.50 million viewers watching, garnering an 18-49 rating of 2.4. Plot 'Opening Sequence' The skyline of New York City appears in the forest. 'In the Character's Past' Rumplestiltskin is drafted into the Ogres War. Milah is alarmed, but Rumplestiltskin is eager to free himself of his father's legacy of cowardice. Milah exhorts him to fight honorably, and hopes they'll start a family when he returns. At the front, he is assigned to guard a prisoner, which proves to be a young girl who has deformed eye sockets but functioning eyes on her hands; she is a Seer, able to see the past and future. She demonstrates her knowledge of Rumplestiltskin's earlier life, then informs him that Milah is pregnant with a son, but that Rumplestiltskin's actions the next day will leave the child fatherless. He doesn't believe her, but she says he will once the army rides cows into battle. That night, another soldier describes their wounded comrades as lucky, because they'll be sent home. The men are then ordered to ride into battle, on leather saddles termed "cows." Rumplestiltskin panics and, believing he is destined to die in battle the next day, crushes his own leg with a hammer. Rumplestiltskin returns home to find Milah cradling their son, Baelfire. She is aghast to see confirmation of the rumor that he took the cowardly action of wounding himself to escape the battle, and she denounces him. He didn't want to leave his son fatherless as his own father did by abandoning him, but Milah says that to be Rumplestiltskin's son is a worse fate, and it would have been better if he had died. Milah angrily leaves, and Rumplestiltskin promises to never leave Baelfire. Years later, after Baelfire has left the Enchanted Forest, Rumplestiltskin tracks down the now-adult Seer and criticizes her for omitting the details of his destiny. He then attacks her and demands to know how to find his son. She says that he will find him after many years and that it will require a powerful curse that will be both cast and broken by others. When he demands to know more, she asks him to take on the "burden" of her prophetic powers. He agrees, but is overcome by a multitude of visions, while the Seer is left dying. She tells him that, with time, he will learn to understand. As she dies, she informs him that he'll be led to his son by a boy who will also be his undoing. Rumplestiltskin states his intention to kill that boy. 'Storybrooke' Regina is upset that Henry has left town with Emma and Gold, but Cora reassures her that Henry is safe and will return. Captain Hook wants to pursue and kill Gold, who is vulnerable without his magic, but Cora instead asks his help in locating the Dark One's dagger, which will enable them to kill Gold in Storybrooke. Regina visits Belle in the hospital; upon determining that Belle doesn't remember anything useful, Regina magically renders her unconscious and levitates the contents of her purse, locating a note with a Dewey decimal number. This leads Regina, Cora, and Hook to a map hidden on a bookshelf in the library. Hook deciphers the map, but Cora then attacks him magically and knocks him unconscious, her use for him at an end. She reveals to Regina that her plan is for them to use the dagger to command Gold to kill Mary Margaret, David, and Emma, leaving Regina blameless in Henry's eyes. Greg Mendell tells "Her" over the phone that he has been released from the hospital but will remain in Storybrooke; he explains by sending her a video of Regina using magic. 'Outside Storybrooke' In New York City, Emma Swan, Henry, and Mr. Gold arrive at an apartment building that Gold's magic identified as Baelfire's location. Emma rings the only buzzer that lacks an occupant's name, claiming to be delivering a package; someone immediately flees the building via the fire escape. Gold demands that Emma fulfill her favor by bringing Baelfire to talk to him, so she gives chase and, upon tackling him, is shocked to recognize Baelfire as her former lover, Neal Cassidy. They argue over her bringing Rumplestiltskin to New York and Neal abandoning Emma years earlier, and Neal ultimately agrees to continue the conversation only if Emma will join him at a bar. There, Neal explains that he didn't originally know her identity but was informed of it by August Booth; it is revealed that what August showed him was a typewritten statement identifying him as Baelfire. Emma finds their coincidental meeting to be inexplicable, but Neal suggests that it was fate and that something good may have come from their relationship; Emma denies it. When he notices that she still wears the keychain he gave her, she returns it to him and says it's only a reminder not to trust anyone. She tells him she intends to uphold her deal with Gold, but he asks that she lie that she was unable to catch him, as this will end all contact between them. Emma calls Mary Maragret to explain the situation and to ask for advice. Mary Margaret says that Henry deserves to know the truth, but Emma wants to protect Henry; Mary Margaret suggests that she is trying to protect herself. Mary Margaret then tells David about Emma's discovery, and they discuss how everyone in their family might be affected by it. Meanwhile, Henry and Gold wait at the apartment building. Gold thanks Henry for bringing Emma to Storybrooke. Henry hopes that, since he forgave Emma, Baelfire will forgive Gold. Gold says that things don't always happen as expected. Henry asks why he doesn't look into the future, and Gold explains that doing so is complicated and the future is like a puzzle. Emma arrives and claims that Baelfire escaped. Unsatisfied, Gold breaks into Neal's apartment over Emma's objections. When Emma discovers that Neal has kept their dreamcatcher, Gold become suspicious of her interest in it and violently demands to know what she is hiding from him. Neal returns and interrupts the fight, explaining that he did not return for Gold's sake, but because he doesn't want Emma to be punished for breaking her deal. He demands that Gold leave, but it soon becomes clear to Gold that his son and Emma know each other. Henry demands to know what is going on; Neal notes Henry's age and Emma must acknowledge that he is their son, and thus that what she previously told Henry about his father was a lie. Henry runs out onto the fire escape, pursued by Emma. Emma admits that Neal represented a part of her life she wanted to forget, and that her reasons for lying were for her own benefit, not Henry's. Henry compares Emma to Regina, because of their lies, and demands to meet his father. In the apartment, Neal agrees to discharge Emma's debt to Gold by letting him talk. Gold invites Neal to Storybrooke, where he can magically change him into a teenager again and raise him properly; Neal rejects the idea as "insane." He tells Gold that he can never make up for the trauma he caused; Neal has been haunted by nightmares of his father letting him go, and now he needs to let him go in return. Neal and Emma agree to try to avoid hurting Henry as they did each other. Neal goes to speak to Henry, and they introduce themselves to each other. Gold looks on, unsettled by the knowledge that his own grandson will be his undoing. Cast Starring *Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard *Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan *Lana Parrilla as The Evil Queen/Regina Mills *Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David Nolan/Prince James *Emilie de Ravin as Belle *Colin O'Donoghue as Hook *Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills *Meghan Ory as Red Riding Hood/Ruby *Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold Guest Starring *Barbara Hershey as The Queen of Hearts/Cora *Ethan Embry as Greg Mendell *Michael Raymond-James as Baelfire/Neal Cassidy *Rachel Shelley as Milah *Shannon Lucio as Seer Trivia Production Notes= *The title card features the New York City skyline. *The title of this episode was announced by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on December 24, 2012. *This is the first episode to credit Colin O'Donoghue as a starring cast member. *Regina confirms people who were not given an alternate identity by the Dark Curse will not be affected by crossing the town line. This statement also confirms Mr. Gold was given false memories by the curse since he needed a potion to keep his Enchanted Forest memories intact. Also confirmed is leaving Storybrooke will result in loss of magic regardless of whether the person keeps their memories. *Rumplestiltskin's son being Henry's father, was something that had been planned from the beginning of Season One. *Neal's apartment number is 407. *Co-star Toby Levins, who plays the Sergeant, also plays the Sentry in the Once Upon a Time in Wonderland finale "And They Lived...". |-|Goofs= *Though the filming streets were a recreation of Manhattan, at least two Vancouver-based food eateries in the real-life neighborhood of Gastown are visible in the background; Terracota Modern Chinese and Salty Tongue Cafe. |-|Other Notes= FILMING LOCATIONS *The streets of New York were filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where production for Once Upon a Time is based. *The war camp scenes in the Enchanted Forest, were shot in a park in Burnaby, British Colombia.